2 Penns Valley Girl Scouts earn Gold Awards

CENTRE HALL — Jessye Smith and Alexis Witherite, of Girl Scout Troop 40073, were presented Gold Awards during a ceremony at Trinity United Church of Christ on Feb. 25.

The Gold Award is the highest award in the Girl Scouting program. According to Girl Scouts of America data, only 5.4 percent of Girl Scouts ever reach the gold level.

The daughter of Amy and Jason Smith, Smith, of Centre Hall, is a junior at Penns Valley High School. She is a member of the National Honor Society, Big Brothers and Big Sisters of Centre County, the Penns Valley marching band, concert band, concert choir, percussion ensemble and softball team.

Smith has been in Girl Scout Troop 40073 since kindergarten and she also is a member of Trinity United Church of Christ. She plans to attend college, majoring in history.

For her Gold Award project, Smith organized a refurbishing of a downstairs Sunday school and youth room in the basement of Trinity Church. The project involved rearranging classroom spaces, the addition of new walls and application of drywall and paint on existing walls. Some new furniture was added, and older furniture was sold at a church yard sale.

Witherite, the daughter of Tom and Toni Witherite, of Spring Mills, is also a junior at Penns Valley High School, where she is a member of the National Honor Society. She is in the Central Pennsylvania Institute of Science and Technology landscaping and horticulture program, and is a member of the Penns Valley girls’ cross-country and track teams, Future Farms of America, the Varsity Club and the Penns Valley 4H Rams.

Also a member of Trinity United Church of Christ, Witherite has been in Girl Scout Troop 40073 since October 2011. After graduation, Witherite plans to attend Penn College in Williamsport, where she plans to pursue a career in landscaping.

Witherite’s Gold Award project was taking a summer trip to Guatemala as part of the Highland Support Project. There, she and others helped construct brick and cement block stoves for isolated indigenous communities to use for cooking. Witherite said that many Guatemalans use open wood fires in their homes for cooking, filling the homes with toxic smoke, which can cause fatal respiratory disease. The new wood-fired stoves are properly vented, greatly improving the quality of life for residents.

Witherite plans to return to Guatemala again this summer.

The award ceremony began with members of Girl Scout Troops 40004 and 40073 leading the audience of about 50 people in the Pledge of Allegiance, the Girl Scout Promise and Girl Scout Law. Trinity Church pastor Dave Downer delivered a welcome message and invocation.

Presentations were made to Smith and Witherite by Terrie Hendrickson and Jack Oakes, representing the Nittany Leathernecks Detachment of the Marine Corps League; U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Matthew Young; Bill Luse, Centre Hall Lions Club president; and state Rep. Kerry Benninghoff, R-Bellefonte.

Smith and Witherite then presented narrated slide shows, showing and detailing their respective Gold Award projects.

Troop leader Dawn Wolfhope explained the Gold Award history and requirements, then Centre Hall Mayor Ray Hankinson presented the girls with their awards.

“Your dedication and perseverance toward this goal are a great example of a valuable learning experience,” he said. “It is a pleasure to see successful young citizens like yourselves, and we hope your community involvement and many varied learning activities have set you on a path to lifelong success and continued participation in your community.”

Following the Gold Award presentation, Silver Awards were presented to Troop 40073 members Ella Smith and Danae Wolfhope.